Wednesday, June 25, 2014

As you may be aware, here in Canada, we have a new anti spam legislation coming into effect July 1, 2014. It requires online businesses, and pretty much anyone, who contacts and shares info online to confirm/ express their consent to receiving the Rawllygood words, future updates and information. ( a.k.a. being on this blog.)

So it is that I must ask, will you stay or will you go? secretly hoping that you will stay. If you wish to continue receiving the Rawllygood words, rest assure, you will. There is nothing else you need to do, your consent will be implied. But if you rather move on, than simply "unsubscribe". I wish you well and know that you will be missed!

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

When was the last time you unplugged, took your shoes off and walked barefooted along a forest path? yeah, exactly! today's world has a way of spinning faster than before and because we have gotten soo good at multitasking we are usually doing 10 things at once and expecting to get 20 done. Right? Sounds too familiar... we get so busy even backing up our electronic systems and restoring them.. but when was the last time you backed yourself up and restored?

Taking time to back up, to restore, to reconnect is crucial for optimal health. It is crucial to nurture ourselves and give our selves time to unwind, time to nourish ourselves, and time to connect with what is really important to us, realigning our intentions and the choices we are making towards building and manifesting our meaningful lives. I am not talking about time to disconnect from it all!, I am talking about time for you away from it all to connect ever so deeply.

I get it, it is easy to get caught up in the midst of the storm, but we must stand tall, feet deeply rooted and breath.

Creating a Spiritual Practice, dedicated to just that, reconnecting with our selves, with our intentions, with our choices brings mindfulness to our days and to our being. Daily practice is most beneficial as it builds and deepens our trust in our selves and creates that magical space, where our bodies know at a cellular level we are safe, we are connected, we can let go and recalibrate our nervous system, we can be still and seek peace.

A Spiritual Practice is as unique as you are. There are many tools out there to be used as a spiritual practice, from meditation to yoga, to breath work, to journaling, to sacred dance, to communing with nature, and so on. Whatever re calibrates your nervous system and allows you to de stress, re connect and realign has the potential to become your spiritual practice.

As you establish your practice, knowing that we have to face our lovely egos and go beyond to where the soul resides will give you the inspiration to carry on and the commitment for long term success.

What does your Spiritual Practice look like?

What would you like it to look like?

Here are some tools or ideas for you to be inspired by, set a few minutes a day, and build on that time, know that just as the seasons change so will your practice. Sometimes we need different things in that time, but making sure we leave rejuvenated, grounded and inspired is very important. On more traditional practices, the movement of the body in encouraged prior to sitting in meditation, it allows us to bring oxygen into our bodies, move the lymph, move the mind, wake up if you will, dance the cosmic dance, in order to settle down for the practice of meditation.

Tools for creating a Spiritual Practice:
*Recognize your needs, write a list down of where you are at, and where you would like to be. Search for ways to get you there.
*Prioritize your needs and your practice.
*Start small, once you are committed to that and it becomes your routine, expand on it. 5 minutes a day can go a long way! 5 mindful minutes of only meditation consistently will do more of your well being than two hours of it, every two weeks.
*Create a sacred space. A space you go to for your practice, it can be as simple as a corner in a room, or a room to itself. Your entire body will soon recognize this place and thank you for showing up to yourself.
*Same place, same time, everyday. If our practice is something that we do every day, we will reap a whole lot more of its benefits than if it is something that is done occasionally. Occasionally understanding that you are human, and that your practice may shift for a day or two is ok.
*Being gentle and compassionate with ourselves, remember its a 'practice', perfection lays in its imperfections.
*Express your intention and your offering for the practice and close your practice with gratitude.
*Read inspirational words to start your day
*Journal. Express yourself!
*Connect with Nature. Get outside. Walk barefooted and ground.

So take those 5 minutes a day, and build on it, back yourself up and restore :)

If you are looking for a day to reconnect with nature, learn about edible gardens, learn about Raw food Nutrition than come on by, Sunday June 8th, 9am-5pm. It will be a jam packed Rawllygood beautiful kind of day!

Events coming up

Sunday June 8th, 9am-5pm, Homesteading for Raw Nutrition-
Presented by Phill Collins owner of Foggy River Farms and co-founder of Fresh City Farms, and myself.

Location: The Realign Ranch. 8641 Concession 2. Mt Albert, On (conveniently located 15 minutes East of Newmarket, or 12 minutes west of Uxbridge).Investment: individual- $125.00 per person, groups of 2 or more- $110.00 per person.

Join us for this full day combination seminar and hands-on workshop. Learn about the benefits of raw nutrition while Natalie demonstrates how easy it is to create simple nutritious meals for you and your family. Natalie will be demonstrating and talking about the benefits and healing aspects of juicing, smoothies, fermenting, dehydrating, super foods, sprouting and more! Phil will talk about many of the nutritionally dense foods that anyone can grow in their own landscape, tree planting and garden bed preparation, permaculture design elements and principles used to design the Mandala Gardens at the Realign Ranch. Hands on activities include meal preparation, tree planting and garden bed preparation.

About Me

Natalie Howard is the creator of rawllygood, founder of the Realign Ranch- home of the Mandala Garden, documentary photographer, and a HOPE Activist. Natalie supports the realignment of body, mind and soul through a variety of workshops such as Living Raw Food Nutrition and Mandala Garden Design. Natalie’s intention is to be of service through the process of self-transformation that leads to environmental and personal awareness, self-sustainability and spiritual growth.
You can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Disclaimer

This blog is for educational purposes only. The recipes and experiences shared in this blog have helped me on my journey. Please use common sense, I have life experiences but no medical training. If in doubt consult with your Doctor/ Naturopath.